Luftwaffe and Allied Air Forces Discussion Forum  

Go Back   Luftwaffe and Allied Air Forces Discussion Forum > Discussion > Allied and Soviet Air Forces

Allied and Soviet Air Forces Please use this forum to discuss the Air Forces of the Western Allies and the Soviet Union.

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 16th August 2018, 12:42
wwrsimon wwrsimon is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Northumberland, UK
Posts: 282
wwrsimon is on a distinguished road
223 Squadron Liberator TS532 - B-24D or B-24J...?

Hello everyone

I'm trying to unravel a mystery about R.A.F. Liberator TS532 6G-N of 223 Sqn.

Here are two links to a couple of photos of 223 Sqn Liberator TS432 6G-N on Flickr:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/oldbuc...-e162c8-bFTJTF

https://www.flickr.com/photos/oldbuc...-e1bGms-7HQk8J

It's captioned as a B-24J, U.S. serial number 42-40380. However, the book "Special Ops Liberators" by Steve Bond and Richard Forder lists it as B-24J-160-CO, ex 42-40350 of the 861st BS/493 BG. To add to the confusion, it seems that both 42-40350 and 42-40380 are from a batch of B-24D-53-CO aicraft:

http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1942_2a.html

So, is 42-40380 possibly 44-40380, a B-24J-160-CO:

http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1944_4.html

44-40380 was formerly 'Kentucky Kloudhopper' which "flew 3 combat missions with the 493rd BG before being transferred to the 803rd BS (Composite) and thence to the RAF 100 Group." See photo and details here:

http://www.americanairmuseum.com/aircraft/19659

Obviously if this is TS532's earlier incarnation, it had a new oval-shaped blister window installed to replace the smaller rectangular one in this photo.

To further muddy the waters, on the rear quarter view photo on Flickr the serial on the fin seems to read 240380 - is this simply a mis-applied serial on the fin? I have a copy of the book "Consolidated Mess" and wondered if it's a was possibly a B-24D with a nose conversion, or is in fact a B-24J?

Regards

Simon
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 16th August 2018, 17:24
SteveB SteveB is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 359
SteveB is an unknown quantity at this point
Re: 223 Squadron Liberator TS532 - B-24D or B-24J...?

In the Air Britain book "The Liberator in RAF and Commonwealth Service" TS532 is listed as a B-24J-160-CO 44-40380 transferred from 8AAF to RAF in August 1944.

Steve
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 16th August 2018, 17:30
wwrsimon wwrsimon is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Northumberland, UK
Posts: 282
wwrsimon is on a distinguished road
Re: 223 Squadron Liberator TS532 - B-24D or B-24J...?

Thank you Steve. I suspected this was the real identity of TS532, but with all the variation in the sources to hand, wasn't 100% sure.


Regards

Simon

Last edited by wwrsimon; 16th August 2018 at 17:30. Reason: typo
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 16th August 2018, 18:16
Buckeye30's Avatar
Buckeye30 Buckeye30 is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Bedford, England
Posts: 736
Buckeye30 is on a distinguished road
Re: 223 Squadron Liberator TS532 - B-24D or B-24J...?

TS532 was from a batch of Liberator IVs TS519--539 converted to B.IVs ( a few were C.IV transports) for radio-countermeasures ( TS526 was 6G-T); conversions were from H- and J-CFs from theatre transfers plus 1 under Lend-Lease. In August 1944 44-40380 was allocated as a prototype for the project to jam V2 rockets ( not carried out); she was from a batch of J-CFs originally allocated to UK and Canada. Note the typical J-nose with Consolidated turret.

223 Sqn. had Mk. IVs from August then Fortress II/III in 1945 still coded 6G.
6G-N was painted Smooth Night for RCM ops, the US serial re-marked on the tail apparently incorrectly ( not unique). RAF Liberators did not usually carry US serials.
Nick
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Friendly fire WWII Brian Allied and Soviet Air Forces 803 8th July 2023 16:47
RAF and RAAF ORBs available on the Web (new version) Laurent Rizzotti Allied and Soviet Air Forces 66 12th May 2020 14:14
Bombing of individual ships at sea by Radar? Felix C Allied and Soviet Air Forces 8 29th September 2015 14:33
Any dispute about interpreting the BofB? tcolvin Allied and Soviet Air Forces 57 17th October 2010 22:31


All times are GMT +2. The time now is 01:18.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.2
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004 - 2018, 12oclockhigh.net